Old-age Care Responsibilities in China’s National Five-year Plans (2001—2025): Towards Active Ageing and Explicit Familialism

Rapid population ageing is challenging China's old-age care (OAC) system. The traditional role of the family in caring for older adults has been declining due to decreasing family size and urbanisation. The Five-Year Plans for National Economic and Social Development (FYPs) of the People's Republic of China provide a general framework for the direction of OAC policy. This article focuses on changes in OAC responsibilities among families, the government and individuals across five FYPs between 2001 and 2025. Content analysis indicates that policy in China is shifting from implicit familialism towards explicit familialism, with families remaining the primary providers of care while receiving indirect support in the form of tax relief. Alongside the indications of moving towards explicit familialism, the FYPs indicated a growing role for the government through expanding care provisions, integrating technology into OAC, improving older adults' economic security, and promoting home- and community-based care. These policy developments expand care provisions beyond families as complements to family care, support financial independence in later life and indicate incipient de-familialism. Individuals are increasingly expected to work longer, engage in personal pension arrangements and consume OAC products and services, thereby assuming greater responsibility for their own OAC and reflecting policy directions consistent with active ageing.